Gulf Shores, Ala.–A total of 10 individuals will compete in eight different events as William Penn takes on the best at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
The event will be held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium Thursday through Saturday. Fans can watch the Championships live in its entirety for $14.95 by clicking here
Highlighting the navy and gold crew will be Derek Seddon (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) who has qualified in three separate events.
A three-time All-American, Seddon will begin his final Championships on Thursday by competing in the hammer at 1 p.m. (Central). He ranks 11th in the NAIA at 184-10.
Later that afternoon, the 4×100-meter relay squad of Tristen Elmore (Fr., Ovied, Fla., Physical Education), Chris Leiba (Fr., Olympia, Wash., Business Management), Earl George (Sr., Gaithersburg, Md., Biology), and Dajon Shaw (So., Highland Park, Mich., Mechanical Engineering) will race in the prelims at 3 p.m. The squad currently ranks 27th nationally with a time of 41.92 seconds.
Elmore will wrap up Thursday’s action by running in the 200-meter dash prelims at 5:05 p.m. He enters 41st in the nation in a time of 21.65 seconds.
On Friday, Elmore and Leiba will both hit the track in the 100-meter dash prelims at 3:10 p.m. Elmore sits 27th nationally at 10.63, while Leiba is 47th in the NAIA at 10.72.
Cornelius McCastle (Sr., McKinney, Texas, Industrial Technology) will be seeking gold in the high jump at 4:30 p.m. He ranks seventh currently at 6-9.
Seddon will then be joined by teammate Derek Robinson (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) in the discus at 5 p.m. This is Seddon’s best event as he leads the NAIA at 189-0. Robinson is 16th entering nationals at 162-0.
Very early Saturday morning (6 a.m.), Guadalupe Gonzalez (Jr., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) will make her nationals debut as she runs in the marathon. Gonzalez qualified for the race by running the half marathon in 1:28:16, which is 21st in the NAIA.
Seddon will wrap up his remarkable career Saturday at 1 p.m. as he faces off against the shot put field. The senior is currently 13th at 52-10.25.
Full Schedule of WPU Events:
Thursday, May 25
1 p.m.–Men’s Hammer (Derek Seddon)
3 p.m.–Men’s 4×100-Meter Relay (Tristen Elmore, Chris Leiba, Earl George, Dajon Shaw)
5:05 p.m.–Men’s 200-Meter Dash (Tristen Elmore)
Friday, May 26
3:10 p.m.–Men’s 100-Meter Dash (Tristen Elmore, Chris Leiba)
4:30 p.m.–Men’s High Jump (Cornelius McCastle)
5 p.m.–Men’s Discus (Derek Seddon, Derek Robinson)
Saturday, May 27
6 a.m.–Women’s Marathon (Guadalupe Gonzalez)
1 p.m.–Men’s Shot Put (Derek Seddon)
Story provided by Wade Steinlage